Ball Don’t Lie: Somehow, Russell Westbrook can wear the things he wears during press conferences but the injured Joakim Noah can’t wear a hooded sweater on the bench during a game. So basically the NBA forced its players to go the hipster route with their dress code and now they’re mad at Noah for dressing marginally hipster-ish. Typically I’d be the last person to come out in support of Joakim Noah’s fashion sense, but this whole ordeal simply bewilders me. I mean, the NBA allowed him to get drafted looking like this… and now they’re going to tell him he can’t wear a sweater? As far as all these metrosexual fashion trends, I believe the NBA made their bed and now they ought to sleep in it.

The Basketball Jones: JR Smith made a hilarious attempt to crash a peewee game at halftime of the Knicks’ blowout win over the Pistons, but none of the kids would throw him the ball. Mike Breen suggested that the kids knew JR wouldn’t pass it back, but I think it’s because they’d just watched him fire an airball from the free-throw line.

Grantland: I’m kind of giving this one a blind link, but it’s about Jimmy Butler Buckets, who deserves to be talked about right now with his 15 PPG average over Chicago’s last 11 games. It’s also from Grantland, so it’s going to be effectively written.

Warriors World:Jarrett Jack’s favorite rapper is 2 Chainz. His hero is Stephon Marbury. His jump shot is comparable to a chair. Somehow, he still comes off as both an intelligent basketball player and a perfectly reasonable human being. As Stromile Swift’s #1 fan and an avid southern rap listener, I feel that this gives me hope.

Daily Herald: Speaking of the Stro Show, his name actually popped up in an article yesterday — an article that wasn’t entitled “the top 10 draft busts of all-time.” Along with the likes of Patrick O’Bryant, Mikki Moore, and Shelden Williams, the author suggested that maybe Swift would be a candidate to sign a 10-day with the Bulls. I highly doubt that Stromile is even on any team’s radar at this point, but maybe John Paxson is still swooning over this. Weirder things have happened, I suppose.